Tide's offensive linemen uncomfortable watching film

Tuesday

Sep 3, 2013 at 11:00 PMSep 3, 2013 at 11:44 PM

It was an uncomfortable feeling for Ryan Kelly and his linemates, sitting in the position meeting room reviewing the film from Saturday’s game.There was some good sprinkled in amongst the bad, but more importantly for the five guys who make up the University of Alabama’s offensive line, it was what didn’t show up on film that hurt the most.

By Aaron SuttlesSports Writer

It was an uncomfortable feeling for Ryan Kelly and his linemates, sitting in the position meeting room reviewing the film from Saturday’s game.There was some good sprinkled in amongst the bad, but more importantly for the five guys who make up the University of Alabama’s offensive line, it was what didn’t show up on film that hurt the most.“We knew, as a team, afterwards that we didn’t make them quit. I think that’s what everyone was disappointed about,” Kelly said. The offense’s sputtering performance in a 35-10 win against Virginia Tech can’t be blamed solely on the offensive line. There were holes running backs missed, blocks not picked up by the backs and tight ends and passes dropped to go along with the line’s lackluster outing. It all led to an uncomfortable film review session.“You know, a win is a win, obviously, but when you win by 25 and everybody is upset in the locker room and no one is saying much, you’re kind of dreading it the next day,” Kelly said. “Obviously, the film is a great teaching point. Coach (Mario) Cristobal, he drove home some pretty important points, getting back to the fundamentals of offensive line.”Eight running plays went for a total of minus-24 yards. Four runs netted no gain. But the problems are fixable. That’s why the bye week comes at such an opportune time.Mastering communication and building chemistry doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time.“No. 1, the most important thing in the offensive line is communication,” UA coach Nick Saban said. “Aight, because those guys really have to play together in terms of everything they do and how they go about doing it. “No. 2 is, because they haven’t played together for a long time, maybe sometimes even when there is communication they don’t trust in it. They don’t believe in it. They’re not sure of it. They’re not positive. They’re not confident. So then they play with a little apprehension about, ‘What kind of steps do I take here?’ and all that. “I think that’s gonna take some time to develop, but I also think that we’re capable of doing it much better than we did.”Kelly said there were first-game nerves.“I don’t care what anybody tries to tell you, it’s your first game starting. You’re going to be nervous,” he said. “I think our assignments were always there, but we let the first game and all the pressure kind of get to us. We got away from our fundamentals and what they teach us here. We played hard. We didn’t always play physical at times. I think this week is very important because we get back to what Alabama offensive line is about, and that’s being physical and making the D-line quit.“I didn’t really know what kind of beast I was walking into. The standard’s been set high by the guys in front of us.”